City Council approves property tax rate reduction for 7th year in a row

PORT ST. LUCIE – Port St. Lucie residents this year will have a lower city property tax rate, a one-time credit on their solid waste assessments and no increase on their stormwater assessments. These are a few of the highlights that resulted from the City Council’s decisions and direction following the summer budget workshop that wrapped up Thursday evening.

The Council tentatively approved a tax rate (millage) reduction, even lower than originally proposed for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins October 1. This will be the seventh year in a row the City’s tax rate will decrease.

“The City Council and staff accomplished a great deal on behalf of our residents during this year’s budget workshop,” Mayor Shannon Martin said. “I am proud that the Council is fulfilling our promise to continue reducing the City’s tax rate. This budget positions our City to have the resources necessary to tackle our growth today and into the future while providing tax relief for citizens.”

The proposed budget supports the City’s strategic goal to be a high-performing government organization and its initiative to reduce the City’s tax rate while ensuring a balanced budget that still provides excellent service for City residents. The City Council will officially adopt the budget following two public hearings on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26.

The budget recommends a total of $731,023,223 for all funds for the fiscal year. Overall, the budget continues Port St. Lucie’s fiscally sound and conservative approach to managing taxpayer dollars as the City exceeds a population of 217,523 residents.

The millage rate is the rate of tax per $1,000 of taxable property value. The City Council approved a total rate of 5.3000 for the 22-23 fiscal year. This year’s rate was 5.600; therefore, the total rate reduction is 0.3000 mills, or $0.30 for every $1,000 of assessed taxable property value.

In addition to allocating funding to support a tax rate decrease, City Council also approved funding a one-time credit on the upcoming solid waste assessment. Homeowners who experienced Waste Pro’s poor service will receive a one-time solid waste credit of $36.76, which equates to about six weeks of solid waste service.

When the solid waste contract was awarded to the City’s new hauler, FCC Environmental Services Florida, the original proposed annual rate was $423.36. After further budget review, the City Manager was able to propose a reduced rate of $416.21. The one-time credit would be effective during FY 22-23 and reduce the proposed annual assessment of $416.21 to $379.45. The new yearly solid waste assessment fee will support the new automated solid waste hauler that should bring consistent and reliable service back to the City.

In another highlight from this week’s workshop, the City Council also declined to increase homeowners’ stormwater assessments this fiscal year.

A full recording of the City Council’s budget workshop will be available to view on demand at https://psl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx beginning early next week.